Guide roller mounting and fluid injection system for fluidized beds for textile treatment



May 8, 1962 v. B. CHIPALKATTI ETAL 3,032,889 GUIDE ROLLER MOUNTING ANDFLUID INJECTION SYSTEM FOR FLUIDIZED BEDS FOR TEXTILE TREATMENT FiledJuly 17, 1958 In vemors Vasan'l' 8. tkipa/kafl/B 5/; r/ K. Man i vannanMWWX A ttorney;

atent flice 3,032,889 Patented May 8, 1962 3,032,889 GUIDE ROLLERMOUNTING AND FLUID INJEC- TION SYSTEM FOR FLUIDIZED BEDS FOR TEX- TILETREATMENT Vasant B. Chipalkatti and Krishnan Manivannan, Delhi, India,assignors to Shri Ram Institute For Industrial Research, Delhi, India, asociety of India Filed July 17, 1958, Ser. No. 749,270 3 Claims. (Cl.34-57) This invention relates to an improved method of and means forguiding textile or like materials through columns or beds of fluidizedsolid particles.

The use of fluidized solid beds for obtaining various effects on textilematerials has recently attained considerable importance in the textileindustry. It is necessary in an apparatus designed for this purpose topropose such a construction of the guide rollers within the fluidizedbed that the passage of the textile material through and out of the bedis facilitiated.

It has been found by experience that the particles forming the fluidizedbed often get entrapped into the end bearings of the guide rollers andprevent or even completely stop their rotation, thus causing eitherexcessive tension on the textile under treatment or tearing or breakageof the same. This involves considerable inconvenience in working as wellas loss of time and production.

According to this invention the improved method of guiding textile orlike material through the fluidized bed of solid discrete particlesconsists in preventing the fine solid particles from entering the gapformed between the shaft and the bearing surface of the guide rollersworking within the fluidized bed by means of fine jets of the fluidizingmedium directed into the said gap.

According to another feature of this invention, the fluidizing medium isadapted to impinge in the form of fine jets at a pressure higher thanthat of the fluid in the fluidizing chamber such as about 10% higherthan that of the pressure in the fluidized chamber.

The invention will now be more fully described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows in part section the guide roller unit to be used in thefluidized bed.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the guide roller 1 has a shaft 2 fitting into abearing assembly 3. The packing is marked 4 While 5 is a gap between theshaft 2 and the bearing 10. 6 are the ports provided in the column 7which column constitutes the fluidizing bed. The fluidizing material isintroduced in the chamber marked 11. Through the ports 6 the fluidizingmedium enters an annular space 8 in the bearing 10. The fluidizingmedium enter through narrow passages 9 cut at an angle an opening intothe gap 5. The fluid enters the gap 5 under pressure.

Referring to an alternative construction in which like parts areindicated by like reference numerals, it will be noticed that theconventional solid shaft 2 is replaced by a hollow shaft 2A and thenthrough openings 12 in the wall of the said shaft, the fluidizing mediumenters the gap 5. These openings 12 are disposed at an angle to thebearing axis so that fluidizing medium is directed towards the fluidizedbed.

The fluidizing medium is therefore introduced in the construction inFIG. 1 through ports 6, annular space 8 and passages 9 communicatingwith the gap 5 and in the case of FIG. 2 the fluid enters through thehollow shaft 2A and the openings 12 communicating with the gap 5. In

2 each case, the fluidizing medium supplied to the gap or clearancespace 5-flows-freelythrough that space and into the column whereby theparticles in the column are fluidized and yet are prevented fromentering between the roller end shafts and their bearings.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declarethat what We claim is:

1. An apparatus for the treatment of textile materials in the presenceof a fluidized bed of solid discrete particles, which comprises atubular casing containing a column of fluidized solid particles, a guideroller located in said column for guiding the textile material undertreatment, said roller having two end shafts, a bearing around each endshaft, a packing for each bearing between that hearing and its shaft,each of said bearings having an inclined passage and an external annulargroove formed therein, each of said passages being at an angle to thelongitudinal aXis of the related shaft and communicating at its innerends with a clearance between that shaft and its hearing at a locationinboard of the related packing, and being directed toward said column,each of said bearings being supported in a sleeve fixed to said casingand extending from the column, a port in each said sleeve communicatingwith the annular groove in the bearing within the sleeve, which annulargroove communicates in turn with the outer end of said inclined passagein the bearing, and means to introduce a fluidizing medium underpressure through said ports into the annular grooves, and thence throughthe inclined passages into the clearances between the shafts and thebearings.

2. An apparatus for the treatment of textile material in the presence ofa fluidized bed of solid discrete particles which comprises a tubularcasing containing a column of fluidized solid particles, a guide rollerlocated in the same column for guiding the textile material undertreatment, said guide roller having two hollow end shafts, a bearingaround each end shaft and having a clearance space therewith, aninclined passage formed in the wall of each said hollow shaft, saidpassages connecting the inside of each shaft with the clearance spacebetween that shaft and its bearing, and means to introduce a fluidizingmedium under pressure into the hollow shafts and through said inclinedpassages in the walls of the hollow shafts to said spaces, the bearingsbeing supported in sleeves fixed to said casing and extending from thecolumn.

3. An apparatus for the treatment of textile materials in the presenceof a bed of solid discrete particles fluidized by a medium flowingtherein under a predetremined pressure, said apparatus comprising atubular casing containing a column of said fluidized solid particles, aguide roller located in said column for guiding the textile materialunder treatment, said guide roller having two end shafts, bearingmembers carried by opposite wall portions of said casing, each bearingmember receiving one of said end shafts, an unobstructed clearance spacelocated between each end shaft and its bearing member and opening at oneend into said column near one end of said guide roller, means forming afluid-tight seal between each end shaft and its bearing member anddefining a closed end of said clearance space at a location outboard ofsaid column, and means for conducting a flow of said fluidizing mediumfrom a location outside said easing into each of said clearance spacesand freely through the same into said bed under a pressure in excess ofsaid predetermined pressure to fluidize said particles and yet preventsaid particles from entering between said end shafts and said bearingmembers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FreundNov. 1, 1949 Helmus Dec. 12, 1950 Williams et a1. Jan. 9, 1951 WoodsOct. 7, 1952 Cuny Aug. 25, 1953 Emerson Dec. 29, 1953 Emerson Dec. 29,1953 Heizer Feb. 23, 1954 Audas et a1 Mar. 19, 1957 Ofien Feb. 4, 1958

